Box turtle husbandry — may need license where endemic; UVB + calcium-fortified diet
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.
Claims
*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Box turtles are common pets but may need a licence where they are endemic; they are docile and need broad-spectrum lighting and calcium-fortified invertebrate and plant foods. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* UVB light (290–300 nm) is especially important for most day-active lizards and chelonians for vitamin D3 synthesis and calcium regulation. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Humid microclimates are often critical for arid species (e.g. tortoises, leopard geckos) to reduce shell pyramiding and abnormal sheds.